Introduction: Fostering Aging Research in Undergraduate Psychology Programs

Faculty at 4-year colleges and other universities that have teaching as their primary focus are an important potential resource for conducting research on the psychology of aging and for training undergraduates who can fill the ranks as the next generation of researchers. This special-theme issue presents 9 articles that describe the components of a successful training program for faculty at these institutions; examples of student involvement in National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded research being carried out at 6 institutions; the reflections of distinguished scholars who served as program faculty; and information on applying for the NIA's R15 Academic Research Enhancement Award.     

Follow-up Evaluation of a Faculty Training Program in Aging Research

In collaboration with distinguished scholars and National Institute on Aging (NIA) staff, we designed, implemented, and evaluated a research training program in aging for psychology faculty from 4-year colleges. The goal of the program was to build and sustain a community of college faculty committed to conducting aging research, incorporating recent advances in their courses, and engaging undergraduate students in aging research. Program design included an initial 2-week summer institute, ongoing consultation, a midyear meeting during the intervening year, and a follow-up institute. The initial institute focused on research methodology, selected content areas, and procedural matters related to preparation and submission of grant applications. There were 2 follow-up meetings that provided participants with extended opportunities to discuss the proposal they were developing. Between 1998 and 2004, 6 cohorts of psychology faculty (with 13–15 members in each cohort) participated in the program. This paper reports the results of a follow-up evaluation we conducted in September 2004.     

中医药院校科研能力培养模式——“教师—分级本科生”培养模式

“教师—分级本科生”科研能力培养模式是以指导导师为中心,充分考虑每一届学生的专业能力和特点,以一届学生带领下一届学生为具体的执行方案。方案有效提高了师生间的亲和力,增强了实验学习的效率,为学生继续深造奠定了扎实的基础,并在6年试点执行中取得了丰厚的成果。对“教师—分级本科生”模式下分级本科生的锻炼过程、培养收益,以及模式取得的成果进行阐述,为探索提高中医药院校本科生创新能力培养的方法和模式提供借鉴。     

医科学生英语学习策略研究

运用美国语言学家Oxford所设计的语言学习策略分类问卷调查表(SILL)对广州医学院2005级和2004级本科生、2005级统招研究生以及2005级在职研究生进行了问卷调查。结果发现,医科学生在英语学习过程中有意无意地使用了各种语言学习策略,但对大多数语言学习策略的使用频率为中级,即只是偶然使用。研究结果表明,医学院校在外语教学过程中应加强对学生进行语言学习策略方面的培训工作,使医科学生们能够自觉地运用各种语言学习策略,从而有效地提高英语学习的效率。     

DEVELOPING RESEARCH QUESTIONS THROUGH GRANT PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing good research ideas is both a science and an art. Teaching students how to select and then conceptualize the research idea requires both tools and practice. This paper discusses the identification of an appropriate research question and the refinement of it into a working research plan in the format of a grant proposal. The author has used the development of a grant proposal to demonstrate the linkages between theoretical models of aging policy and aging policy research in a master's level Aging and Public Policy Course. In this course students choose, develop, and refine a research statement in response to a request for proposal from an independent foundation. The theoretical knowledge cycle is used to discuss how these students learn over time to refine and reformulate their ideas into workable research questions. Students report that writing for a real funding entity allows them to develop both proficiency with the construction of a research question and research plan and develop expertise with aging policy.     

PARTICIPATION IN A COURSE ON AGING: KNOWLEDGE,ATTITUDES, AND ANXIETY ABOUT AGING IN ONESELF AND OTHERS

Knowledge, anxiety, and attitudes about older adults and one's own aging were assessed in 256 college students. The Facts on Aging Quiz (Palmore, 1988), the Knowledge of Aging and the Elderly Quiz (Kline, Scialfa, Stier, & Babbitt, 1990), the Anxiety about Aging Scale (Lasher & Faulkender, 1993) and the Aging Semantic Differential (Rosencranz & McNevin, 1969) were administered at the end of the semester to students enrolled in an upper level psychology course on aging and students enrolled in an introductory psychology course (who had never had a course on aging). Comparisons of those finishing the psychology of aging course and those never having taken a course on aging revealed significant differences in knowledge of aging and the elderly and attitudes toward the average 70-year-old. Interestingly, the two groups of students did not differ in personal anxiety about aging and attitudes about one's own aging. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to attitudinal judgments of oneself versus others and the differential benefits of education for attitudes and anxiety about other old adults versus attitudes and anxiety about one's own aging.     

Toward a Holistic View of Undergraduate Research Experiences: An Exploratory Study of Impact on Graduate/Postdoctoral Mentors

Involvement in research has become a fixture in undergraduate science education across the United States. Graduate and postdoctoral students are often called upon to mentor undergraduates at research universities, yet mentoring relationships in undergraduate—graduate/postdoctoral student dyads and undergraduate—graduate/postdoctoral student—faculty triads have been largely unexamined. Here, we present findings of an exploratory case study framed by relational theory that identifies the motives, gains, and challenges reported by graduate/postdoctoral students who mentored undergraduates in research. Graduate/postdoctoral mentors experienced a wide range of gains, including improved qualifications and career preparation, cognitive and socioemotional growth, improved teaching and communication skills, and greater enjoyment of their own apprenticeship experience. Notably, graduate/postdoctoral mentors reported twice as many gains as challenges, neither of which were limited by their motives for mentoring. Indeed, their motives were fairly narrow and immediate, focusing on how mentoring would serve as a means to an end, while the gains and challenges they reported indicated a longer-term vision of how mentoring influenced their personal, cognitive, and professional growth. We propose that understanding the impact of mentoring undergraduates on the education and training of graduate/postdoctoral students may uncover new ideas about the benefits reaped through undergraduate research experiences.     

心理学本科生创新能力培养新举措——华东师范大学心理学本科生创新能力培养实践分析

华东师范大学通过一系列举措尝试建构本科生创新能力培养模式,即：通过制定人才培养方案,为恭科生能力培养提供政策支持;通过建设专家型师资队伍来保障高水平的本科教学过程;通过建设高水平课程、出版高水平教材,为本科生提供充足的学术养分;通过改革实践教学,为本科生的创新能力发展提供实践机会;通过改革评价方式,激发本科生参与科研训练、提升创新能力的热情;通过广泛深入的国内外学术交流,扩展本科生的学术视野;通过师徒制的科研能力训练方式,让本科生参与教师科研项目和设立本科生科研项目,在行动中培养他们的科研意识与创新能力。实施上述措施后,本科生参与学术活动的意识明显增强,创新能力获得显著提高,在国内产生了较大的影响与辐射效应。     

“三位一体”模式在《社会学》教学中的应用分析

《社会学》是一门实践性很强的课程,它以社会问题为研究对象,注重培养学生分析和观察社会的能力。在对学生进行理论教学的基础上,通过开展实践教学和关注学生的兴趣和知识需求,培养其特定的实用知识技能,在教学中实现理论知识—实践参与—实用能力＂三位一体＂化,这在提升大学生知识技能以及就业竞争力方面具有重要意义。     

INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICE‐LEARNING: CONTRIBUTIONS TO CURRICULA

This article reports some findings from a national demonstration project involving the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and thirteen colleges and universities. We studied 39 courses in which students were involved in service‐learning in aging. We describe and discuss (1) the range of demonstrably feasible adaptions, (2) what faculty say their students learned from the experiences, and (3) faculty perceptions of personal benefits and costs associated with developing and directing these projects.     

伯克利分校精英本科人才培养研究

美国加州伯克利大学为培养具有领导力的创新型人才,追求人才培养的卓越性,在培育本科生过程中,有四个方面值得关注：围绕鼓励并支持学生更好地参与到学习中来,通过关注领导力培养使学生根据时代要求适应变化并创造变化;为让学生挑战学术目标,促使学生主动学习以增进学术卓越和个人成功;为使学生知识全面,重视跨学科培养人才,以使其拥有坚实的知识背景并能开拓新的职业;视多元化为大学卓越的整合,关注平等、包容和多样化,重视不同群体入学机会的平等性,重视弱势和不利群体在求学中获得成功。借鉴伯克利分校的成功经验,我国在培育本科精英人才方面应着重注意以下几点：（1）重视本科生领导力的培养;（2）利用并创设多种环境,促进学生主动学习;（3）增强学生学习体验,注重跨学科人才培养;（4）把多样化作为大学实现卓越的标志。     

应用型本科高校大学生科研训练模式的实践与探索

提高本科生的科研和创新能力是大学教育的首要目标,本科生参与科研训练对提高学生的创新素质具有重要影响和作用。通过本科生走进科研实验室在导师的指导下参与学生创新创业训练项目研究,激发学生科研创新热情,培养学生创新能力和实践能力。实践证明,以教师科研项目和学生独立科研项目为依托,通过整合科研和实验室资源,采用分层指导、因材施教、有效沟通、多方激励,建立导师指导下的本科生科研训练创新模式,能够有效培养学生的实践能力和创新创业精神。     

普通高校本科人才培养的再定位探讨

近年来,普通高校本科生就业难已成为不争的事实。这一局面的形成有许多原因,其中就业能力不强是重要原因之一,高校人才培养定位及以此为基础的人才培养模式是决定因素之一。文章就此试做探讨,以期对普通高校本科生培养模式的创新与改革提供参考。     

Genome Consortium for Active Teaching: meeting the goals of BIO2010

The Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) facilitates the use of modern genomics methods in undergraduate education. Initially focused on microarray technology, but with an eye toward diversification, GCAT is a community working to improve the education of tomorrow's life science professionals. GCAT participants have access to affordable microarrays, microarray scanners, free software for data analysis, and faculty workshops. Microarrays provided by GCAT have been used by 141 faculty on 134 campuses, including 21 faculty that serve large numbers of underrepresented minority students. An estimated 9480 undergraduates a year will have access to microarrays by 2009 as a direct result of GCAT faculty workshops. Gains for students include significantly improved comprehension of topics in functional genomics and increased interest in research. Faculty reported improved access to new technology and gains in understanding thanks to their involvement with GCAT. GCAT's network of supportive colleagues encourages faculty to explore genomics through student research and to learn a new and complex method with their undergraduates. GCAT is meeting important goals of BIO2010 by making research methods accessible to undergraduates, training faculty in genomics and bioinformatics, integrating mathematics into the biology curriculum, and increasing participation by underrepresented minority students.     

Learning from older citizens’ research groups

ABSTRACT

This article adds to an ongoing conversation in gerontology about the importance of training and involving older people in research. Currently, the literature rarely distinguishes between the one-off involvement of older citizens in research projects and the development of research groups led by older people that sustain over time as well as the nature of educational initiatives that support their development. This article presents a case-study based on evaluative data from the WhyNot! Older Citizens’ Research Group that has been running independently for nearly eight years. Members’ evaluations of, and reflections on, the impact of the training program explore from their perspective: Why older people want to get involved in research training and research groups, what they value most in the training, and the types of impact their involvement has had. Creating an educational environment where participants were able to contribute their knowledge in a new context as well learn new skills through group-work based experiential learning were key. Regular role-modeling provided by inputs from successful established citizen research groups was also important. Of the many benefits members gained from being part of a research group, emphasis was given to the relational aspects of the experience. Likewise the benefits members’ accorded to taking part in training and research transcended individual benefits encompassing benefits to the collective and the wider community. Linking health, social care and educational policies is important in providing coherence and opportunity for older people’s voices to shape research, policy, and practice.     

The Research Mentoring Program: Serving the Needs of Graduate and Undergraduate Researchers

Many institutions of higher education confront seemingly unrelated needs of graduate students, who need not only to complete their dissertations but also to learn how to become proficient mentors for undergraduates as they move on to faculty roles. The graduate students are increasingly searching out high-impact learning experiences such as involvement with undergraduate research. The program we describe in this article offers a solution to these issues by pairing undergraduates with graduate students to work on their dissertation research. Undergraduates undertake hands-on research while learning about graduate school, and the graduate students learn about the mentoring process while receiving assistance that allows them to keep their dissertations moving toward completion.     

Involving Undergraduates in Aging Research at a University in Transition: An AREA Award

Involving students in research with older adults at a university in transition has its unique challenges. The goal of this paper is to discuss some of the rewards and lessons learned in undertaking a research program involving undergraduates at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UC-CS). UC-CS is a regional university in transition from a model of life-long learning to a more traditional research university. Most students work at least 20 hours per week, and many work full-time during the course of their studies. UC-CS has a particular strength in aging with a community-based CU aging center, and a core faculty committed to the population. Both the author and students benefited from an Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for the study of aging. The author benefited from the energy and productivity of the students, whereas the students benefited from having a personal relationship with a mentor and additional writing experiences.     

Social Network Interventions with the Elderly

This paper presents a teaching and in-service training model for practitioners who provide services to the aging. The emphasis is on helping trainees to understand and to utilize the concepts of social networks and social support in their work with the elderly. The model was developed and tested through a statewide training program conducted by the authors under contract with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Aging. The benefits and limitations of utilizing this model are reviewed and evaluated. The important of transferring findings to practice through in-service training strategies are also discussed.     

The Utility of Simulated Clients in Macro-Practice Courses

Over the past several decades, the use of simulated or standardized clients has been an important area of pedagogy for social work education in training students to work with individuals, families, and groups in practice settings, often in preparation for a practicum placement. Little in the extant literature, however, has focused on the possible utilization of this pedagogical tool in preparing students for engagement at the macro level, such as community development, organizing, policy practice, or other types of involvement with large systems. This article considers the possible strengths and benefits of simulated clients within macro-level courses—especially relative to experiential activities that don’t involve simulated clients—as well as important logistical considerations related to such use.